Rothstein Top 25 for 2016-17

[James]

Rs senior at the two, senior center... Larrier and Adams are two guys who need to really take a leap this summer because this team should be good, better than 2016. if those guys don't develop , after a full year under KO, I'll start feeling ancy about the player development.

 

[aceboon]

Rs senior at the two, senior center... Larrier and Adams are two guys who need to really take a leap this summer because this team should be good, better than 2016. if those guys don't develop , after a full year under KO, I'll start feeling ancy about the player development.

Kinda feeling the same, I don't understand having a staff position filled with someone doing offcourt engagement/development stuff with all these player/skill development guys out there that would love to have a fulltime position with a team.

 

[Candyman]

Last year I agreed with the good ranking but my hopes were going to be based on improvements from Brimah, Facey, and Hamilton. DHam was inconsistent but gave us 8-10 rebounds against better teams. Who is doing that? Brimah and Facey were not better if at all offensively from last year so we expect that to turn 180? DHam setups are now gone. Where is the strength and skill down low? These guys are stick figures. Enoch would have to become a real force as a sophomore. Big players are going to abuse us in the hard games but I think against the chaff we will look like world beaters early. We did not address our bigs weakness so far. We may just get in the tourney but with this roster we are not doing damage. Sorry, and I really hope to be wrong about this.

For the 2014 team who was doing our damage down low? Nolan, Olander, Brimah? Nope, we had skinny stretch 4 who averaged 5 rebounds a game. We can win with a stretch 4 again if need be. I know we had Bazz, Boat and DD and Jalen, Gilbert and Larrier are not those 3 but its not impossible to win without a big down low scoring force.

 

[Matt1010]

So this is going to be the annual thread where we put massive expectations on a bunch of new players? Team has some good pieces but I'd say a ranking between 30-35 sounds right.

 

[Jay-Bone]

For the 2014 team who was doing our damage down low? Nolan, Olander, Brimah? Nope, we had skinny stretch 4 who averaged 5 rebounds a game. We can win with a stretch 4 again if need be. I know we had Bazz, Boat and DD and Jalen, Gilbert and Larrier are not those 3 but its not impossible to win without a big down low scoring force.

I don't hardly disagree, but its like that game where you move one piece, then have to slide the others over. Someone noted above that with a slender 4 that is out on the perimeter, Bazz had to step up rebounding. No one is Bazz on this team. When your pg hangs around the rim, someone has to step up denying the fast break. JA may be Boat, but I don't know. The pieces have to fall together. I'm not as grossly optimistic as last year, so that might be a good thing.

 

[EBonz30]

This thread is the first time where I've seen people get really amped about Larrier. I'm not saying I don't expect/hope he's great, but where's the indication he's supposed to be amazing? For as frustrating as he could be, Dham was really good at basketball...
Agreed though, if he can be Dham we will be great. I'm not criticizing excitement I'm truly curious as I know next nothing about Terry.

I fully expect Larrier to be a better player than DHAM, maybe not this year, but I see Larrier's upside as a lottery pick and should be a first round pick otherwise he didn't fulfill his talent.

I watched him play about 20 games his freshman year, great athletes who has a beautiful looking jump shot, wasn't consistent at shooting yet, but I can see that will come, really have high expectations for Larrier.

Love the talent.

 

[jibsey]

For the 2014 team who was doing our damage down low? Nolan, Olander, Brimah? Nope, we had skinny stretch 4 who averaged 5 rebounds a game. We can win with a stretch 4 again if need be. I know we had Bazz, Boat and DD and Jalen, Gilbert and Larrier are not those 3 but its not impossible to win without a big down low scoring force.

You forgot Giffeye (senior)who could shoot the lights out from 3 senior year and rebound. Bazz and Boat (senior, junior) were 2 incredibly talented guards and DD had skills. Yes, with those guys we could do it with Nolan, Brimah, and Olander down low I agree. This is a lot for a freshman and a sophomore guard to carry even if Rodney is there.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Certainly understand your point. I would say a big difference is we have two elite ballhandlers in Alterique and Jalen to create easier opportunities for everyone in the halfcourt, and we should run a lot. That first year for Purv with Boatshow we were grinding out 53-52 wins and everything was difficult offensively. It was ugly with only one ballhandler. Larrier looks like a fantastic athlete and should get some easy hoops running the floor. He was rated pretty highly in the realm of DHam so I am expecting a terrific first year and a great year 2 based on his superior athleticism and experience and two guys getting it to him in good position.

Purvis was rated higher than both of them, and it took him a full season to shake off the rust after sitting out.

I don't know when larrier became such a good shooter, but watching him freshman year he has ok form, poor shot selection (product of havoc system?), and very inconsistent

As someone else said, let's learn to temper these expectations. We know what we have at the 1, 2, and 5, but the 3, 4 and bench is pretty much unknown.

I think this year will be a good indication of KO's ability as he now has a roster full of players he brought in for his system. Let's see what he can do

Edit: only that first part was directed at you rip. The rest was just generalizing other posts

 

[CTBasketball]

If this team gets out and runs like crazy, everything will fall into place. Larrier will be fine in transition. Don't want him chucking too many 3's unless he proves he can hit at a solid clip.

 

[Matrim55]

If this team gets out and runs like crazy, everything will fall into place. Larrier will be fine in transition. Don't want him chucking too many 3's unless he proves he can hit at a solid clip.

In order to run, you have to be a great defensive rebounding team. I'm not sure that's in the cards for us.

I think our ceiling for next year is determined by Jalen's improvement. If we get a more consistent version of the kid who showed up in March, we can be a top 15 team. If not, we'll scrape by anywhere from 25-35.

And please, everybody: Don't expect Alterique to be ready to come in and lead the team from Day 1. He's lower rated than Jalen, Kemba & Taliek, and we all know how much they struggled as freshmen when asked to run the offense. Just hope for a faster, steadier improvement curve than what we saw from Jalen last year.

 

[UConn990411]

So this is going to be the annual thread where we put massive expectations on a bunch of new players? Team has some good pieces but I'd say a ranking between 30-35 sounds right.

How is the 15-20 range massive expectations? They could certainly underperform like they have the past two years, but based on talent alone it seems like a fair projection.

 

[UChusky916]

If this team gets out and runs like crazy, everything will fall into place. Larrier will be fine in transition. Don't want him chucking too many 3's unless he proves he can hit at a solid clip.

The same was said about last year's team but replace the word Larrier with Hamilton.


I'm just not sure how good or bad this team will be next year. Our roster has talent 1-3 and at the 5, but I see a hole at the 4 spot. Larrier is a better fit as a 3, but could slide to the 4 if we go small. I don't think Facey is a full time PF... he always starts the year well and then looks lost by mid-season, especially defensively. Diarra is a freshman so you can't count on him at PF either. Durham a candidate to redshirt.

Our teams are generally as good as our PGs and ball handling. Our PGs are young and I'm not sure who will be primary/secondary PG between Jalen and Alterique and how that dynamic will work... so that remains a big question mark as well.

I think we're in good shape at the 2-3 spots. A seasoned Purvis and Larrier with Jackson and Vital off the bench with JA or AG occasionally sliding to the 2-spot is a lot of talent from 2-3.

At center, I'd like to see marked improvement from Brimah in 3 key areas... the offensive end, on the boards, and cut down on fouling. I'm also hoping that Enoch makes strides and can provide some much needed bulk and toughness down low... we looked like boys among men vs that Kansas frontcourt, and I'm hoping KO saw that as well and will realize how important it will be for Enoch to develop into a capable big and maybe play him at the 4 with Brimah at center (will be tough to keep them out of foul trouble, though).

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Not buying it. I think we struggle to make the Tourni. Won't believe that we're a top 20 team until I see Larrier play against a non-cupcake. Not enough ball handlers w/o DHam. We'll see. This is the most pessimistic I've been in a very long time.

Nothing a change of avatar (or handle) can't cure.

 

[JimHurley]

I don't have high expectations for Larrier this year.

Purvis's first year after he transferred, he was inconsistent at best. And Purvis had a better freshman year than Larrier did.

I promise Larrier will not miss a beat. I saw him at practice one day and he just might have been the best player there. The only thing is that he definitely cannot rebound as good as Hamilton so a lineup of Rique, JA, Purv, and tL at the same time might not work very well. But I fully expect Larrier to come in, play great, and possibly be our leading scorer.

 

[champs99and04]

I thought 15-20 was ambitious, as well, until I sat down and actually tried to rank them. Once you get past the first ten teams or so you have massive question marks everywhere. Hell, he has Xavier #4 and I have no idea who is going to play up front for them.

 

[pj]

Were back to having the same issue we had 2 years ago. With miller gone we again have no one to feed the ball into in the post. I expect a lot of passing around the 3pt line and 3pt shots to start the season until someone hopefully emerges as an option

Expect to see Larrier at the 4, Purvis at the 3, Adams and Gilbert backcourt, often. Among the freshman forwards we might say a lot of stretch four usage.

 

[willie99]

Adams, a stud PG running the show, that's how we roll

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Expect to see Larrier at the 4, Purvis at the 3, Adams and Gilbert backcourt, often. Among the freshman forwards we might say a lot of stretch four usage.

I'm not sure why people keep expecting him to play the 4, but whatever you say...

 

[Yankees32123]

I'm not sure why people keep expecting him to play the 4, but whatever you say...

Because he's 6'8" and will spread the floor.

 

[sammydabiz]

I think we'll be better w/o the presence of DHam this year.
Calhoun was correct, he's a "play thru" player not a go to guy. He would have put a hiccup in the progression of JA and the confidence of AG. I like the look of this upcoming year. If the locker room is right, we'll have a Very good year imo

 

[HuskyHawk]

How is the 15-20 range massive expectations? They could certainly underperform like they have the past two years, but based on talent alone it seems like a fair projection.

I agree. Last year's team lost 4-5 games in which it was the better team. That was down to chemistry and lack of leadership in key situations. They fixed most of that by the end, but too late.

This team projects to be a better "team". The pieces fit together much better. We never played with a normal lineup last year, often running a team with no PG at all on the floor, and a forward playing out of position and trying to distribute. I think Adams is poised to be an absolutely unstoppable star. While Larrier isn't likely to be as "good" as DHam, he's more traditional as a wing. He doesn't force us to adjust to his game, as both DHam and Gibbs did last year. Purvis should have better flow not having to adjust to Gibbs. Gilbert allows us to play two scoring PGs when we want. I expect every front-court player to improve and we have some great talent coming in.

 

[lange10]

I promise Larrier will not miss a beat. I saw him at practice one day and he just might have been the best player there. The only thing is that he definitely cannot rebound as good as Hamilton so a lineup of Rique, JA, Purv, and tL at the same time might not work very well. But I fully expect Larrier to come in, play great, and possibly be our leading scorer.

Purvis was referred to as the best player in practice on a team with Shabazz, Boat and Deandre by Calhoun and a few others yet he still struggled in his first year at times. A game is a different animal than practice. I think he'll be fine but I'm tempering my expectations 'til I see what he can do on the big stage when it counts.

 

[mauconnfan]

I agree. Last year's team lost 4-5 games in which it was the better team. That was down to chemistry and lack of leadership in key situations. They fixed most of that by the end, but too late.

This team projects to be a better "team". The pieces fit together much better. We never played with a normal lineup last year, often running a team with no PG at all on the floor, and a forward playing out of position and trying to distribute. I think Adams is poised to be an absolutely unstoppable star. While Larrier isn't likely to be as "good" as DHam, he's more traditional as a wing. He doesn't force us to adjust to his game, as both DHam and Gibbs did last year. Purvis should have better flow not having to adjust to Gibbs. Gilbert allows us to play two scoring PGs when we want. I expect every front-court player to improve and we have some great talent coming in.

He isn't likley to be as good as DHam in some ways, namely rebounding and handling the ball form the wing. But taking the ball more out of his hands and putting it in Jalen's and AG's hands may be a better thing and actually should be. And another thing maybe not getting as many rebounds means he guards his guy throughout the play and doesn't allow open looks, rather than cheating to the rim sometimes to get those rebounds? Larrier has some things to prove but his game looks like it has a high ceiling and he's more athletic. We will see how it all works out but I think they will be fine.

 

[HuskyHawk]

He isn't likley to be as good as DHam in some ways, namely rebounding and handling the ball form the wing. But taking the ball more out of his hands and putting it in Jalen's and AG's hands may be a better thing and actually should be. And another thing maybe not getting as many rebounds means he guards his guy throughout the play and doesn't allow open looks, rather than cheating to the rim sometimes to get those rebounds? Larrier has some things to prove but his game looks like it has a high ceiling and he's more athletic. We will see how it all works out but I think they will be fine.

You are looking at it the same way I am. Can he do as much? Probably not. Can he do the things we actually want our wing doing? Yes, and possibly better than DHam. I'm interested to see him in action. Hell, he might even be able to make layups.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I think this years team will be more well rounded. Part of the problem with last years team was that hamilton had to handle the ball as much as he did. Gibbs was not even close to being a pg in the mold of Boat, Shabazz or Kemba. I really think that is what hurt is the most last year. When Adams started to get a little more burn I thought we started to have much better offensive stretches but he was a freshman and when he has to sit Gibbs is back at the point with Hamilton handling the ball alot more. Getting Dham back imo would have been great mainly because we wouldnt have to use him as a forward quite as much. Teams knew it was coming and adjusted and would shut down our offense for long stretches by making us just shoot from the outside. If he got to play with more ball handling guards as a junior I think we would have seen him game look alot better and it would have worked alot better for our offense. But... he entered the draft.. Moving on.

I think once again it starts on the defensive end. I think Larrier as a fillin for Dham could actually be a significant defensive upgrade. What he brings on offense? I dont know yet. Looks athetlic and explosive, we'll have to see what he brings. The fact that he'll have Jalen, and Gilbert and Vital getting the ball to him at the right time could be great for us though. And the same goes for the whole team. I think with these guards in place we'll see more slashes and mid range shots, easy set ups for our big men. Hopefully someone picks up on dhams lobs to Amida... Gilbert is a very good defensive player too, so we'll have pressure on the ball. I can see Larrier, Purvis,Jalen and Diarra being a nightmare playing the passing lanes and we still have a great shotblocker down low.

I dont know what is going to happen but the potential is there for this group of guys. Amida and Purvis want the NBA and that starts with success at Uconn, next year is do or die for them. Larrier has to be DYING to get on the court and prove he made the right choice in going to Uconn. Jalen was warming up late last season, lets see if he keeps getting hotter. Gilbert looks super competitive, same with Vital. Enoch is going to get more burn now, lets see how hungry he is. Enoch could be huge for us this year if he can put things together. Durham if healthy could be our best incoming freshman! He has really great potential i'm hoping he surprises us all. Also if Vance can knock down the 3s as advertised along with vital and Gilbert, we may have just become and actual good 3 point shooting team which will make scoring in other ways alot more easier. I think we are loaded talent wise. There isnt anything we need that shouldnt be somewhere on our bench. I'm hoping these guys are all hungry. Great potential! now they just need to put in the work.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Expect to see Larrier at the 4, Purvis at the 3, Adams and Gilbert backcourt, often. Among the freshman forwards we might say a lot of stretch four usage.

Gilbert will not start , last year's team had no PG and it still took awhile for KO to start JA. Do you guys seriously think KO didn't realize Gibbs was out if position?
It will be JA, Rodney, Larrier,AB, and Facey ( who isn't a bad rebounder )that start out the year. Enoch is really the only other potential 5 so given the fouls bigs tend to commit he is far to valuable to play at the four except situationally. He will play minimum of 1o to 15 minutes at the 5. If we could find a capable backup 5 than Enoch at the 4 becomes a possibility.
Will there be situationally lineups,of course , but I believe the above is the most likely. By year end KO will have the most flexible team he has had.
He will work the kids in as their practice effort dictates.
Gilbert will play some point ,but I suspect Adams will still be on the court.
If he plays Gilbert and Rodney together it means either Gilbert is a protegy alla Kalid or Purvis's handle has made a quantum leap.

 

[mauconnfan]

Gilbert will not start , last year's team had no PG and it still took awhile for KO to start JA. Do you guys seriously think KO didn't realize Gibbs was out if position?
It will be JA, Rodney, Larrier,AB, and Facey ( who isn't a bad rebounder )that start out the year. Enoch is really the only other potential 5 so given the fouls bigs tend to commit he is far to valuable to play at the four except situationally. He will play minimum of 1o to 15 minutes at the 5. If we could find a capable backup 5 than Enoch at the 4 becomes a possibility.
Will there be situationally lineups,of course , but I believe the above is the most likely. By year end KO will have the most flexible team he has had.
He will work the kids in as their practice effort dictates.
Gilbert will play some point ,but I suspect Adams will still be on the court.
If he plays Gilbert and Rodney together it means either Gilbert is a protegy alla Kalid or Purvis's handle has made a quantum leap.

Just can't see many minutes in which Kelis Fisher and AB will be in the game at the same time. They may very well start together for whatever reason, it won't end that way unless a light went off in both their heads over this summer. Too many of the same weaknesses on defense and offense to have 2/5ths of your team playing meaningful minutes together.

I don't know what the answer is yet, but between Enoch, Larrier, the frosh and a potentially healthy durham there is one I'm hoping.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Just can't see many minutes in which Kelis Fisher and AB will be in the game at the same time. They may very well start together for whatever reason, it won't end that way unless a light went off in both their heads over this summer. Too many of the same weaknesses on defense and offense to have 2/5ths of your team playing meaningful minutes together.

I don't know what the answer is yet, but between Enoch, Larrier, the frosh and a potentially healthy durham there is one I'm hoping.

Larrier is lock at the 3 , that doesn't mean he will never play the 4 .
Rodney might even see minutes there if necessary
You have to have a competent backup 5 , whether you swap AB/SE
It's probably wise to think if them in tandem as your 5
From Facey's POV ,he may be a better compliment to Steve as I get his similarity to AB as a perceived weakness.
I think opposing team matchups will dictate changes as well as a kid making a Josh Boone freshman type leap.
But for practical purposes the 4 is Facey's to lose. I hope as a senior he comes through.

When you said Kelis Fisher my first thought was Kevin Freeman, if only that were true.
Maybe one of the kids can channel the original Kelis Fisher
He was a beast.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

My All Sleeper Player Team (ASPT) ...

1) Marcus Foster/Creighton (Sleeper BE POY/2nd Team AA)...
2) Omer Faruk Yurtseven AKA Y7/NC State (If Clears NCAA)...This could be a stretch but...
3) Marcus Marshall/Nevada (36 pts vs Tulsa in 2014-15)
4) Malcolm Hill/Illinois (Not even Honorable Mention All- Big Ten last year)
5) Tres Tinkle/Oregon State (Break out player nationally on a border line NIT team @ OSU in 2016-17)

6th Man: Amida Brimah/Connecticut

***Player to watch that has not been talked about much due to his injury but could be a big wildcard in college hoops next year:
Dennis Smith Jr.

What do you guys think?

Best,
BDH

 

[David 76]

I think the challenge for this team, beside chemistry, is rebounding. Probably the biggest loss with DHam going. Have to hope Facey, Diarra & Enoch can pick up some slack.
Talent wise, we said goodbye to Phil. Omar, Sam and they were replaced with much more talent. We are finally back to 2 top point guards which will be a big plus. As good as Dham is, we can make up for his points and assists. Rebounds and chemistry are what we need. And I think our chemistry might improve without a point forward that dominates our offense.